Dreamliner snafus have limited impact ... for now

Boeing's problems with its flagship Dreamliner aircraft mounted Wednesday after an emergency landing in Japan prompted two airlines to ground their fleets, sparking a fall in Boeing shares.

The emergency landing heightened concerns about the reliability of the aircraft and prompted All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines to halt flights on 787 Dreamliners at least until Thursday.

The Dreamliner has been involved in a series of incidents over the past 10 days, including a battery fire, a cracked windshield, two fuel leaks and a braking system problem.

Still, aviation industry experts believe the long-term fallout could be limited -- for both Boeing(BA) and its customers.

In early trading Wednesday, Boeing's stock fell more than 3%. Up until now, the aircraft maker's shares had managed to ride out the wave of negative headlines -- gaining about 1% between Jan. 7 and Tuesday's close.

Dreamliner's first flight

About half of the 50 Dreamliners in service have now been grounded, causing temporary disruption for thousands of passengers. U.S. aviation authorities are looking into the emergency landing and have announced a probe into the Dreamliner's design, manufacture and assembly.

"Airlines taking delivery of aircraft at the beginning of the cycle will expect these teething problems," said Paul Sheridan, head of Asia consultancy at Ascend, the advisory arm of Flightglobal. "Airlines should have plans in place to deal with the lower than expected reliability."

The first Dreamliner was put into service by All Nippon in October 2011, and 787s flew without major problems for more than a year.